Micro-(Shape-And-Motion)-Scopes

Abstract:

Imagine a drone looking for a safe landing site in a dense forest, or a social robot trying to determine the emotional state of a person by measuring her skin-tremors due to pulse beats. In these applications, it is critical to resolve fine geometric details, such as tree twigs; and to recover micro-motion due to biometric signals. Such precision is more than an order-of-magnitude beyond the capabilities of traditional vision techniques. I will talk about our recent work on designing a new class of micro-resolution 3D cameras and motion cameras using geometric optimization techniques, and unconventional, but low-cost optics. These cameras can measure extremely subtle motions (< 10 microns), and detailed 3D geometry (<100 microns) at long distances, and, for the first time, track micro-motion even around-the-corners.